Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Short Interest Up 7.4% in December

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,100 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the December 15th total of 9,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 10,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Friedman Industries

In other news, CEO Mike J. Taylor acquired 1,980 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.50 per share, with a total value of $28,710.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 166,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,408,943. The trade was a 1.21 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 7,180 shares of company stock worth $100,655 in the last quarter. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Friedman Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,702 shares of the company's stock worth $8,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP raised its position in Friedman Industries by 2.9% in the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 419,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,644,000 after purchasing an additional 11,689 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Friedman Industries by 0.6% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 361,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,464,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Friedman Industries by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 70,727 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 7,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Friedman Industries by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,878 shares of the company's stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares during the period. 33.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Friedman Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Friedman Industries Stock Performance

Friedman Industries stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.95. 21,000 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,650. Friedman Industries has a 12-month low of $13.40 and a 12-month high of $19.52. The company has a market capitalization of $97.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 1.41.

Friedman Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Friedman Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.04%.

About Friedman Industries

Friedman Industries, Incorporated engages in steel processing, pipe manufacturing and processing, and the steel and pipe distribution businesses the United States. It operates in two segments, Coil and Tubular. The Coil segment is involved in the conversion of steel coils into flat sheet and plate steel cut to customer specifications and reselling steel coils.

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